Chapter Fifty-Four: The Matter Comes to an End!

“No need. Didn’t you want this? I’ll give it to you.” As the man with the phoenix eyes spoke, his hand was already drawing the machete from behind his back and swinging it at Ma Yi. For a moment, everyone held their breath and focused on Ma Yi.

With a bang, the weapon moved so fast it broke the sound barrier with a sharp crack. This was the man’s ultimate attack—supersonic speed. In the entire Southern Base, only he could achieve this, and it was exactly this technique that made him so arrogant. Of course, under normal circumstances, he couldn’t always unleash such speed; even at his limit, his success rate was under thirty percent. Hearing the explosive sound, the man was thrilled. What bad luck for this guy—to be hit with his strongest attack right away.

“What!” The four seventh-level Evolvers were the first to notice, and then everyone saw it: Ma Yi still stood there, calm as ever, his right hand slightly raised, three fingers pinching the blade of the strange machete. The whole scene froze, and no one dared to breathe.

“How—how is this possible?” Xu Qiang, standing closest, stared in shock, his mouth agape. He could clearly see the veins bulging on the phoenix-eyed man’s arm and the trembling muscles—using all his strength. Yet this unimpressive-looking man, Ma Yi, seemed not to use a single ounce of force. He pinched the blade so casually, as if he held not a razor-sharp weapon but a piece of straw, a feather.

With a shout, the man with the phoenix eyes drew his left fist and drove it hard toward Ma Yi’s abdomen. His face twisted into a grimace. He tried desperately to pull back his right hand and the machete, but it wouldn’t budge. Borrowing force, he threw all his might into his left fist.

Another bang—a single finger from Ma Yi’s right hand pressed against the oncoming fist, stopping the fierce attack dead in its tracks.

“What the hell is going on!” The crowd was stunned. Just a pinch had stopped a great blade in motion, and a single finger had blocked a fist moving so fast it seemed a blur.

“Aren’t any of you going to help?” The man with the phoenix eyes was growing frantic. Since becoming a seventh-level Evolver, he had never felt so powerless. His confidence was crumbling. Thinking quickly, he called to his companions for help.

“To hell with it,” Xu Qiang was the first to react. If this man was really so strong, there was no way he’d escape today. If he was doomed anyway, he might as well give it everything. With both fists, he lunged for Ma Yi’s face. If this guy won, he was dead for sure—he had to try to kill him.

“Let’s kill him together!” The phoenix-eyed man kept shouting. The others quickly understood: even a master can’t fight off too many at once, and a barrage of random blows can kill the greatest teacher. They all grabbed their weapons and attacked Ma Yi.

Weapons and fists rained down on Ma Yi. His already flimsy clothes were torn to shreds, the scraps flying everywhere.

Wu Jiang’s pupils dilated again. As a fifth-level Evolver, he could see clearly the blows and weapons landing, but when they struck Ma Yi, not a mark was left. Previously, seeing Ma Yi block the famed Evolver’s attack, he’d assumed Ma Yi’s defense was lacking—surely his attack and speed were so strong that his defense must be weaker. But reality woke him up. Not a single powerful attack left any trace on this man’s body.

“How dull.” Ma Yi’s left hand flexed slightly. The man with the phoenix eyes felt the weapon slipping from his grip, slowly being drawn toward Ma Yi. In a panic, he let go of his attack and clung to the handle with both hands, trying desperately to pull it back.

“Initially, this was none of your business. Now I feel you’re provoking me. All of you, stay.” Ma Yi’s left hand drew the strange machete from the man’s grasp, and with a flick of his right hand, he pointed at the surrounding attackers. Crisp metallic snaps rang out.

Every weapon Ma Yi touched with his fingers broke apart. Shards of steel flew past the Evolvers’ faces and arms, opening bloody cuts in their skin.

“Run!” someone shouted, and dozens of Evolvers bolted for the inner city.

“Stay where you are. Otherwise, I’ll start a massacre.” A slash arced through the air, carving a half-meter wide, thirty-meter long gash deep into the ground ahead of the fleeing Evolvers.

They stopped, staring at the black fissure before them, cold sweat soaking their backs. This wasn’t fighting a man—it was like defying a god.

“Come back.” Ma Yi toyed with the weapon in his hand. The phoenix-eyed man collapsed on the ground, drenched as if fished from a river. This man had launched a slash with just his body—was his flesh even harder than alloy steel?

“That’s right.” The phoenix-eyed man replayed the scene in his mind—Ma Yi snapping weapons with a mere finger, not a mark left by any attack. This man’s body had surpassed metal alloys. Was such a thing possible for a human? Could he be a Dominator-class Evolver, or even a Myth-class?

Gazing at Ma Yi, the man could no longer consider him human—if someone called him a god, he’d almost believe it. Now, he was as helpless as a fish on the chopping block, resigned to be slaughtered.

“Isn’t this metal from Earth?” Ma Yi mused aloud, flicking the strange blade with his finger. There was no metallic clang, yet it felt icy cold to the touch.

“Sir, this weapon actually came from a meteorite. It landed in that exact shape, and I heard that just grinding it down ruined three machines,” Wu Jiang explained. He now understood—whether or not Ma Yi was a god, he was certainly a peerless human.

“I see, no wonder it’s so tough. But the edge isn’t very sharp.” Ma Yi flicked his left hand casually, sending a half-moon slash flying far into the distance—nearly three thousand meters by his estimation. What a fine thing! He wasn’t sure if it was his growing strength or the blade’s quality, but his power had increased greatly.

“Sir, I was wrong. I won’t dare again,” the phoenix-eyed man pleaded, glancing at Wu Jiang and cursing himself. Who was Wu Jiang? Even he had shown deference—how could he, the phoenix-eyed man, compete? He’d grown arrogant lately, thinking himself invincible. Now, he just wanted to survive. Life was too sweet to end now.

“Xu Qiang, come here. And the old man, too,” Ma Yi said flatly, glancing at the distant Evolvers.

“Sir, I was wrong too! Please spare me. I was arrogant, I’ve done many bad things, but I swear I’m not a villain now.” Xu Qiang crawled to Ma Yi and knelt, tears filling his eyes. His misery almost made Ma Yi feel guilty, as if he were the one who’d locked the girl away for three years.

“Granny Lili, if you want, you can beat me—just don’t kill me, do whatever you want!” Seeing Ma Yi unmoved, Xu Qiang crawled to Lili’s side, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

“You bastard! I finally have my chance for revenge! I’ve been waiting so many years for this—I’ll never let you go. You owe me, you owe my man—death is too easy for you. I’ll skin you, I’ll tear out your tendons!” Lili had seen Ma Yi’s power. With him backing her, she became half-mad, her once-delicate face twisted with fury, laughter mingling with tears.

At last, revenge was within reach. The villain knelt before her, repenting. She had waited so long, sacrificed so much, all because of this man. Lili wanted nothing more than to torture him, to consume his flesh and blood.

“How cliché.” Ma Yi glanced at Xu Qiang, then at the big rat, before turning to the old man.

Hearing Lili’s determination to kill him, Xu Qiang took advantage of Ma Yi’s distraction, grabbing Lili to use her as a hostage. But Ma Yi, ever wary of Evolvers, would not be fooled.

As Lili paled in fear, Xu Qiang screamed and collapsed, writhing on the ground. His arm and both legs were severed at the root. A large rat stood behind him, retracting its claws into its paw.

“You filthy whore, you’ll die a miserable death! I had you for three years—if I’d known you’d turn on me, I’d have killed you long ago. You slut—if you’ve got the guts, kill me!” Xu Qiang cursed her incessantly as he rolled in agony. Lili stared at him, her face ashen.

“Truth is, I have no real grudge with you, or with the Corpse King. You defended the base, which was right. She, as a zombie, attacked the base—that wasn’t wrong either. Different races, different perspectives—each side has its reasons.” Ma Yi looked at the old man, whose eyes held no guilt, only fear of Ma Yi.

“Sir, Elder Gu has always been upright, a great martial artist. I beg you to show mercy—we at the base can offer you compensation,” Wu Jiang said, tearing his gaze from Lili, who was now methodically carving pieces of flesh from Xu Qiang with great skill. Unable to watch, he turned just in time to catch Ma Yi’s words and hurried to plead. Clearly, Ma Yi wanted to resolve the matter peacefully.

“Compensation?” Ma Yi glanced at the still-unconscious Corpse Queen, then sighed. With a world so changed, how much longer could humanity survive?

All the corpses, human and zombie alike, were claimed by Ma Yi. The tens of thousands of surviving zombies, under the astonished gaze of Wu Jiang and the others, devoured every body. This was a boon for both sides—corpses would otherwise be burned by the base to prevent plague, and the zombies could digest and evolve from the remains.